Nepheris, Embrace of Darkness : Star Wars the Old Republic
by WriterN
Summary: The rise of Nepheris, Lord of the Sith.


**Nepheris**

 _Embrace of darkness_

Risa, now nineteen years old, found herself on a strange and barren planet on the outskirts of Imperial space. She was Lorded over by a sadistic Echani Lady of the Sith named Lord Vernikas for whom she had no love for or commitment to. It was only months earlier, on the Sith home world of Korriban, that she had been tricked into the Echani's service or as Risa saw it, her new slavery. And now she was teaching the Acolytes of Vernikas in the hope of discovering a suitable apprentice of the Dark Side to serve the Sith Lady. It did not take Risa long however to discover the conflict brewing inside Vernikas and her relation to the Dark Side. A conflict she sought to turn to her advantage in her struggle for freedom.

Like many Sith, emotions clouded the Lord's judgement which made her conviction either waver or be expressed too strongly and with deadly consequences for those around her. Because of this continuous threat, Risa always found herself on guard near the silver-haired Sith as even she, despite her relatively high position, was never sure when she would be on the receiving end of the Lord's wrath.

In her free time, Risa often meditated on the Force in private. If there was one thing good about the desert world it was the strong presence of the Dark Side created by the Sith Lords that lived there before her. Once again Risa opened herself up to its power, enticing it by letting her hatred flow freely and outward into the Force. As she felt the Dark Side surround her she thought about her journey, her life on Dromund Kaas and her entry into the Sith order.

The Sith, she thought, had failed to understand the Dark Side and therefore mistook it's potential. But Risa hasn't, she knew exactly what the Dark Side was and has understood it for years. Ever since she was six years old she saw it in her dreams. In the darkness it came looking for her. Those horrible fiery yellow eyes peering at her from the shadows. To stare into them was to feel oneself eternally falling towards the two great infernal orbs but, never coming any closer. The experience was akin to infinity made manifest in a terrible dream. During the day, although she did not see the eyes directly, she felt their watchful gaze upon her. It took Risa years to figure out who or what it was that looked at her in her dreams and stalked her every waking moment.

Risa thought back to her first glimpse of a Sith. The Sith was a human male, roughly twenty-five years of age that had once visited their slave camp to observe the progress they were making on a colossal Sith statue. Risa could not see any of his facial features but she somehow 'knew' him, or rather yet she knew the presence that surrounded him from her dreams. That particular day was unusually dark, even by Dromund Kaas standards and the lighting around the work-camp wasn't enough to fully light the work place. The older and weaker Rattataki tripped and stumbled about in the dark and many were dragged off by bored and sadistic imperials to be made an example of and to terrify the other slaves into working even harder. Though at times the latter objective seemed of lesser concern to the camp overseers.

Risa was one of those slaves. Barely eleven years old and dressed in clothes several sizes too big for her. Clothes were always in short supply and one could assume that the handed down clothes were of some unlucky predecessor who was now no longer in need of them. She was a small and thin girl even when compared to her peers. The long sleeves of her grey shirt would fall over her hands if she did not stop to roll the sleeves back up every now and then. Because of her small and fragile frame she often fell behind in the hard manual labour the Rattataki were put through. To the young Rattataki's credit however, she did her best to do her part regardless of the pain and without complaint or ever asking anyone for help. She was known to be a fairly quiet girl who usually spent her time alone and secluded even from the other children. Like the others of her age it was Risa's job to haul materials and equipment from and to the more mature and educated construction worker slaves, technicians and artisans.

While carrying the heavy loads Risa could hear the torment that those unlucky few were put through. The darkness was made all the more frightening by the screams of men, women and even children as they were tortured and sometimes executed. The pleading cries of their despair cut short by blaster fire and a thud slushing sound of a body slumping to the wet ground. The almost deafening silence that followed the seconds after were the hardest. It never became normal, it never became numbing. Not to Risa, not to someone like her. Instead, it made her angry, it made her hate to such an extent she wondered if there ever was so much of it wrapped up in such a small body as her own. Her fingernails tried to burrow into the plasteel plate she was carrying as she seethed in anger.

Another blaster shot, another moment of silence, the resuming of the crying and then the sound of rain only now being registered again into her conscious being. Even though her back was facing the mounting pile of dead slaves she could 'see' the imperial soldiers. She saw them radiate in the dark, their images coming together in her mind. And she saw 'him'. The sadistic and self-absorbed lieutenant Brosner. How she hated him. The image of the short thin man was etched in her mind. He had bony cheeks, pasty white skin and sunken eyes that made his thin-lipped grin even more sickly and repulsive to her. To top it all off she could feel his enjoyment in the suffering he caused. No doubt, she thought, a way for him to vent the frustration of never have risen to higher rank himself despite being of a far more senior age than his peers.

The air was cut through by his high pitched voice and thick Imperial accent as he called out to a couple of soldiers to bring forth the next one. "Another?" Risa asked herself, her surprise, causing her to unintentionally say it out loud. She glanced back over her shoulder but could only make out the shadowy silhouettes of the Imperials. She averted her eyes again when she saw the dark figures pull another faceless person from the slave ranks and onto the ramp they were occupying. Even for a bad day this was an unusual amount of bloodshed. But, these weren't mandated killings by the camp overseers or Imperial policy. This was Brosner and him alone. Risa could feel it, she could feel the confusion in the troopers with each new victim. She could feel that their desire for blood grew weaker with each new kill and with each added mutilation. Brosner however, was in a mood and Risa's entire people were at his mercy.

A vile, insignificant little pest with no redeeming qualities of his own. How Risa wished she could point the blaster at him instead. To see the look of absolute fear in his beady little eyes when he saw who it was that would be responsible for his death. "That feeling again." She thought in the back of her mind as she again felt the fiery eyes on her. But she welcomed it's company. She wanted it to 'see' what she was feeling. She wanted someone to stand witness to her hatred. And she knew the eyes would not only understand, they would welcome it and in return reward her with the burning sensation in her core. She was feeling it right now, liquid fire coursing through her veins. "Yes, the eyes would understand" she thought. In her mind she saw Brosner as clear as if he stood three feet from her and she was pointing the barrel up at his chest. Unconsciously she bit her lower lip as she fixed the memory of the imperial's pleading eyes before slowly squeezing the trigger. A red flash followed and then-

The sound of blaster fire snapped Risa out of her daydream. "Another one." She cursed under her breath. It was just a dream and what else could it have been? Her feet were still shackled and on her shoulder there still was a sheet of plasteel she was hauling around. The realisation that her dream wasn't real caused a sinking feeling in Risa's chest and stomach. The power she felt moments before, taken from her. Head lowered and lost in her own thoughts Risa suddenly found herself bumping into a far larger male. The impact causing her to lose balance and fall back into the mud dropping the sheet of plasteel. She looked up at the pale skinned Rattataki in frustration but, before speaking up, managed to stop herself as she saw he wasn't looking back at her. Instead, his gaze was completely fixated in the direction of the ramp. "Was the last victim a relative of his? A wife or child?" Risa wondered.

Looking around, Risa noticed that it wasn't only the tall man in front of her who wasn't walking. All the slaves have stopped moving and appeared to be frozen in place. They were all silently staring towards the ramp. Even the Imperial guards seemed to be captivated by whatever was happening there. Risa pushed herself up out of the mud and onto her feet. Her eyes widening when she saw it. An Imperial trooper had removed his helmet and was on both knees on the ground. She could see the other guards aiming their blasters at him and shouting in his direction. It was hard to discern what was being said but it sounded like. "He shot Brosner" And she could make out the words "Arrest" and "Murder". Her eyes darted around to find the Lieutenant but she could not see him. More importantly, she could no longer sense him. The man who she hated with such passion was now suddenly snuffed out of existence.

The silence of the slaves lasted for but a few moments until it became clear what had happened. As if on que, the entire camp roared and applauded the young Imperial soldier. The Imperial soldier that had just shot Brosner. The Imperial soldier that now, was being dragged off by his former comrades. Unlike the ecstatic slaves in the camp, Risa was silent as a dark realization dawned on her. There was no doubt in her mind, it was her. She somehow, in whatever way caused Brosner's demise. And that knowledge pleased her. A thin smile crept up her face as she accepted it and made Brosner's death her achievement for ever.

Relishing in the thought of her new found potential she looked up to once again gaze upon her kill. Looking towards the ramp her eyes unknowingly locked with an armoured tall man, a man with glowing amber orbs for eyes and worse, he was staring right back at her.

 **A slave no more**

The last three years saw Risa grow from a child to a developing teenager. Despite the horrid living and working circumstances in the camp she was blossoming into an attractive young woman. A development that had not gone unnoticed by her male peers and even the Imperials who often glanced in her direction or made remarks as she passed them by. Fourteen years old, Risa had gained some height but could still be considered on the short side of what was average for her age. Though her body was slender with long thin limbs her face was fair with round cheeks and full lips. Her pale large eyes were of a blueish white with lush eyelashes under a further hairless brow.

She had been promoted over the years from hauling materials and equipment to fabrication and machine maintenance. Slimly built and intelligent she could more easily get into the tight spaces of the large building machines and make needed repairs than most. A job that kept her from hard physical labour but had it's own risks that made it no more desirable. Fire, toxic fumes, entrapment and even the machine roaring back to life had taken the lives of many slaves that had gone before her. Some of those accidents, Risa suspected, were only so in appearance. It was believed among the slaves that Imperials, if for nothing else their own amusement, would send a slave into a machine only to turn it on again with fatal results.

Though Risa had not yet experienced any incidents in the work herself, she had been sent in to clean the remains of her fellow labourers more than once since she started. Luckily, they had no such work for her today. She was laying on her back in a tight and dimly lit space working on the hydraulic valves of one of the giant lifting machines. She was done with the work sooner than expected so she afforded herself some time to just lay still in the debts of the machine and think back to her encounter with the Sith three years earlier.

It was right after the death of Lieutenant Brosner when she laid eyes on the man. Tall, and in full black armor the Sith had looked directly at her after the killing. Out of all the people there, only Risa and the Sith knew what had really transpired and who was responsible. Risa noticed herself instinctively walking back and deeper into the crowd. However, the yellow eyed Sith kept following her movements, determined not to lose sight of the young Rattataki. Unconcerned with the commotion among the Imperial ranks the Sith jumped down from the ramp onto the wet muddy floor and started to walk towards Risa in long strides. Risa's sense of power and accomplishment quickly turned to panic and fear prompting her to make a run for it. Hoping to lose him in the masses she zigzagged through the celebrating groups of slaves. The guards, too occupied with controlling the crowd before the celebration turned into an outright uprising, did not even notice the small girl slipping past them and into the camp housing area.

Now more than a hundred meters away from the others, Risa found herself walking the paths between the slave compounds alone. All she wanted now was to get back to her bunk and hide. "One more turn after this." She thought, glancing over her shoulder to check if the tall man was still following her. "Good, I am in the clear." She thought and she allowed herself a sigh of relief. She opened the door of her unit and stepped inside. As she tried to pull the door shut behind her she found herself almost pulled back out by someone on the other side. Before completely losing her balance the handle of the door slipped from her grasp as the door forcefully swung back open.

The tall man in black stepped into the unit, his heavy and muddy boots caused the wooden floorboards to crack under the man's weight. Risa stared up at the man in abject fear. She remembered the eyes from her dreams and now here someone with similar eyes was looking down at her. The Sith calmly closed the door back behind them and now she was alone with him. To her surprise however the man did not seem angry or even slightly upset but that did not stop her from taking an instinctive step back when he approached. The man paused in response to the girl's retreat. Instead of taking another step he got down onto one knee to look upon Risa at eye level. Risa could now fully see his facial features.

The man appeared to be in his mid-twenties with thick short blonde hair, high cheekbones and a strong chin. The short stubble of dark blonde hair gave him a roguish though not unkempt appearance. "So.." The Sith asked in a soft, calm tone. "What do you call yourself?" Risa's mouth had gone completely dry and she had to swallow a few times before words could come out. "I am Risa sir." The man nodded. "Nice to meet you Risa. My name is Sodjun. Do you know what I am?" Now it was Risa's turn to nod. Having worked on Sith monuments for as long as she could remember she would certainly recognise one standing a breath away from her in full armor and a Lightsaber dangling at his hip. "Yes, you are a Sith." Risa answered softly.

Sodjun smiled, his large white teeth and wide mouth made him appear friendly and warm though somehow no less formidable. The smile however quickly disappeared from his face, causing Risa to keep up her guard again. He narrowed his gaze and looked at her inquisitively. "Have you done this before? Kill someone?" Risa's eyes widened as her suspicions were confirmed. He did know and now he was here for her. "No, I.. I did not even know I was doing it until after Brosner.." She averted her eyes from the man as she thought back to that moment when she unknowingly compelled the soldier to pull the trigger on the Lieutenant. Recalling the feeling, a sense of pride and power returned to her causing her lips to arc up slightly. Seeking to re-establish eye contact, the Sith lowered himself a bit more. "You do not regret it?" He asked in what appeared to be genuine surprise.

The girl snapped her gaze right back at him with a fiery intensity and balled her small hands into fists. "No! He deserved to die!" She exclaimed louder than intended. Much to her embarrassment, the dramatic stance turned almost comical when the rolled up sleeves of her shirt fell back down and extended to several inches past her fists. Quickly and in annoyance the eleven year old rolled her sleeves back up and retook her previous stance with balled fists and all. Sodjun watched the girl retake her dignity in light amusement but did his best to suppress a smile as to not openly make fun of his new find. The man nodded to her statement. "You will find that there aren't many that deserve to live." The man said it in a way that sent a shiver down Risa's spine, but she hid her discomfort well.

Despite the intimidating presence of the Sith, the young girl managed to keep up at least the appearance of pride and defiance about her. Something she was keen on to not let go of in front of him. Sodjun continued. "So he deserved to die, no doubt. But, why did you kill him?" Risa looked at him with disbelief. How could he ask such a question? Was this man blind to her people's suffering? She felt the eyes come back to her again. They watched her as her anger was almost ready to boil over. Through gritted teeth the girl replied. "Because he -murders- my people for sport. Because someone as puny as him doesn't deserve to make the rules. Because everyone would be better off if he was dead!" A thin smile arced the edges of Sodjun's mouth. "Your people? You could not be further removed from them." Sodjun said.

Risa blinked in confusion and her mouth fell open but before words could even come out Sodjun continued. "You have a gift Risa, you have the Force. And not only that, you have the will to act upon your nefarious instincts and manifest them into the world. That makes you more like me than your own mother and father, child." Risa shook her head in denial, but as outrageous as the words may have sounded to her, he did have the familiar feeling of the eyes about him and doubt slipped into her mind. Nevertheless she kept up her outward appearance and confusion turned into anger once more. "You know nothing about me. I will become so strong I will free all the slaves. I will kill every single Imperial and we will escape together!" Risa said, her tone of voice rising with feigned confidence.

Sodjun pushed himself off one leg and rose to his full height, towering over the girl once more. "You say that now, but having used the Dark Side your transformation has already begun. Already your attachment to your people is wavering. In time you will no longer care about why you wanted to be strong, you will just crave power for the sake of power and you will have no use for your people, your friends or even your family." Sodjun gestured to her. "I am your kin now, and I will teach you to control the Dark Side if you choose to become my apprentice and wear the mantle of the Sith."

Risa was utterly astonished by the development. A dozen questions rushed through her mind but the desire to escape the slave camp drowned out all other concerns. Determined not to waste her chance at being something more than a slave she managed to subdue the feeling of being overwhelmed long enough to nod and respond. "I want to be free. I want to follow you and learn to become even stronger." Sodjun gave her a thin lipped smile. "Then get onto your knees, and swear yourself to me, and the Sith." The weight of what was transpiring caused Risa's body to tremble, but slowly she did as the Sith asked, never taking her pale eyes off the man as she still had no reason to trust his intentions. Moreover, she felt that he was dangerous. The eyes were there too. Watching her with more interest than she has ever felt before.

Sodjun continued as the young Rattataki got down to the floor. "Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion I gain strength. Through strength, power. Through power I gain victory and through victory my chains are broken. The Force shall set me free. These are the words of the Sith code. Repeat them back to me." Sodjun's tone was stern and almost threatening. Risa saw the man's hand go down to his hilt. "His Lightsaber" she thought. Her pale gaze focused back onto his. She could feel that she was in danger, mortal danger even and for the first time in her life she felt the eyes shift their focus from her, to someone else. They were looking at him now. Was she about to die? The fear of death was overshadowed however when envy took a hold of Risa's thoughts. He took something from her what she cherished most and she needed to get it back.

Unconsciously her tongue moved over her lower lip. "Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion I gain strength. Through strength I gain power. Through power I gain victory and through victory my chains are broken. The Force frees me." Risa replied in a monotone voice. Her gaze was intensely focused on him, the danger she felt just moments before was gone from her mind and replaced with the sole desire to get the eyes back. The Sith could not hide his surprise of the young girl being able to repeat the code in just one try. Sodjun moved his hand from the saber hilt and let his head fall back and his eyes fall shut.

There was that thin smile again but now he seemed to be relishing in something. "I can feel the anger growing stronger in you." He looked back down at her and so did the eyes. Risa however did not allow herself to feel even a moment of relief at gaining her precious eyes back. Instead she was possessed by a new determination to not let them stray from her again which kept the passion within her burning bright. Sodjun looked at the girl for a few moments longer before continuing. "Do you swear to commit yourself to the Sith code and do you swear that I am your master in all things from this point on?" Risa shifted her attention partly from the eyes back to the Sith and nodded slowly. "I swear, master." Sodjun smirked and bit the left side of his lower lip. "Perfect.. Then in return I promise to teach you the ways of the Dark Side.. Rise."

Risa pushed herself up back to her feet, the trembling of her body betraying that the whole ordeal has been taxing on her. "When you are ready. Come find me at my estate outside of Kaas city." Sodjun said already turning towards the door and placing his hand on the handle. The meaning behind those words didn't even register with Risa and, under the assumption she was to follow, started to walk after him only to be pushed back by a large hand against her chest. "No, you will have to find your own way back to my estate."

Risa's eyes shot wide in disbelief and fear. "What? You are leaving me? I just became your apprentice and you are already abandoning me?" Her voice cracked as the stress and barrage of emotions she had to endure finally took its toll on her. "Why? Why would you leave me after all this?" She cried out. Sodjun now turned back to her fully. "I did not come to save you child. The Sith idealize the strength of the individual. You should have no one to thank for your freedom but yourself. Waiting for a heroic saviour is the attitude of a slave, not a Sith."

Risa shook her head from side to side, the words still weren't sinking in. "I thought you were going to teach me." She said, feeling tears stream down over her cheeks. "And I intend to keep that promise. But, I do not teach a slave. Risa, is dead and I have already forgotten ever meeting the slave child. Instead I will be waiting at my estate for a Sith." Sodjun said angling himself towards the door once more. In desperation, Risa rushed forward and took hold of his arm, her eyes pleading and overflowing with tears. "Please don't do this! Don't leave me!" Sodjun shrugged the girl off hard and the force of it caused Risa to stumble back onto the ground where the little girl broke down into a fetal position and cried. "I said I only teach Sith. And at the moment you are even less than Risa, for you haven't even got a name."

Sodjun pulled down on the handle and opened the door. Before stepping through he glanced back over his shoulder. "Discover what you are really capable off and escape this place. We will see each other again as long as you follow your instincts and take the Sith code to heart. Good bye.. Nameless girl." Sodjun stepped through the doorway into the darkness and pulled the door shut behind him. The sound of the metal handle clicking back into place causes Risa to look up at the door for a moment only to let her head drop down to the wooden board floor again. Motionless she lay in the dark as her mind was sorting out all that had just happened. Her only company being the horrid yellow eyes.

 **Necessary Evil**

A single drop of water fell between Risa's eyes and she awakened from her dream. It has been three long years since she was left behind by Sodjun and not a day has gone by that she did not think back to that fateful day. Faintly, she could hear the overseer impatiently shout out at her. "How long have I been in here?" Risa wondered. Turning onto her stomach, she started crawling back out of the machine. Her slender and lean body making its way through twists and turns without much difficulty. The machine was dimly lit, but it was even darker outside. From Risa's perspective the whole ordeal had something ironic. Most people tried their whole lives to claw their way out of darkness, yet she was willingly crawling towards it.

Outside, a stocky built overseer waited impatiently. "Hurry up slave! Don't think I don't know that you have been napping! All you slaves are the same. Lazy good for nothing wastes of space and so stupid.. I tell ya the Empire is doing you a favour by providing security and purpose to your miserable lives." The Imperial shouted out. Moments later Risa would come crawling out of the maintenance hatch of the machine. Again the voice of the overseer thundered over the worksite. "Finally, the Empress decided to wake up from her slumber." Impatiently the man waved towards the operator to start the machine up again. Risa jumped down onto the wet ground only a moment after the insides of the machine sprang to life.

She hadn't been worried about getting entrapped though, Risa had developed the ability to sense impending danger a long time ago. At one time there was a partial structure collapse that killed thirty of her fellow slaves, but Risa did not only survive, she did so unscaved. Risa remembers calling out to the other slaves that there was danger, but as the more experienced workers couldn't see anything amiss, she was ignored. With little time to spare Risa made her own way to safety, still calling out for the others to evacuate. But, it would prove in vain. When the loud sound of bending metal finally shook the slaves out of apathy the structure was already coming down on them, and a few Imperials along with them.

That part Risa didn't mind, but she was beginning to understand what Sodjun meant when he said that they were more alike than she with her own blood. Sodjun would not have been so foolish. He would probably have sensed the danger long before Risa even did. They were both above the accidental nature of death. They were even above luck for they were gifted with a way of perceiving the world that others could not even begin to imagine. Following the incident Risa felt herself growing more and more detached from the other slaves in the camp. She was starting to accept that she lived on an entirely different world than they were. To look upon a non-forceful being was like looking at a holo-projection. A flat image with the illusion of three dimensionality but obviously limited.

There was however one who did manage to capture Risa's interest. Although the slave camp was dominated by Rattataki, there were other species to be found there as well. Among them there were Twi'leks, Zabrak, Kubaz even humans and a single female Falleen named Xezza. Neither a true reptilian or mammalian, the Falleen were a cold blooded hybrid species between the two classes. To Risa's eyes, Xezza's unique features made her look deadly and exceedingly beautiful at the same time. The Falleen was in her early twenties, athletically built and with a soft reddish skin tone. Though Risa noticed that the pigmentation of the woman changed depending on Xezza's mood. Being a full head taller, Risa found herself envying the Falleen for her height but also the wavy hair that fell upon her shoulders. Although Risa envied her, she considered Xezza the closest thing to having an actual friend.

When Risa stood back to her full height and locked eyes with the overseer, her expression was inviting and friendly. "Sorry overseer, it will not happen again." She answered melodiously and without losing eye-contact. "Eh.. Right.. See that you don't. Get your equipment back to the storage units and clean them off.. Then you can head to your housing unit." The man's response was half hearted as a feeling of unease took hold of his thoughts. Risa had been practicing pushing and pulling the minds of those that lacked the mental strength to do anything about it and the overseer was just another toy to practice on. She was beginning to get a good understanding of which buttons to push, and how far to push them to get what she wanted. They may still call her a slave, but in here she was anything but one.

Each day she was presented with fresh opportunities to explore and test her power. Opportunities she did not let go to waste. Risa nodded "Yes sir." She said and made her way past the man, making a point of passing him as close as she could without touching. The overseer instinctively stepped back and let his gaze follow the young Rattataki. Risa could feel the man's confusion. He wanted to say or do something to retake dominance of the situation, but it was already too late. Getting more and more obscured by darkness it required merely a slight push against his mind for him to forget all about Risa. The young girl smiled to herself as she felt the man's very notion of her slip from him.

A click of the tongue and sharp hiss alerted Risa to Xezza's presence. She had been leaning against one of the construction lights waiting for her. "You are becoming better at your tricks." The Falleen remarked, the sound of her voice having a certain serpentine quality to it. Risa paused for but a moment. "He isn't a naturally bad man.. The higher ups are more.. committed to making our lives miserable." She explained thoughtfully. Xezza pushed herself off the steal metal framework that held up the lights and started walking alongside Risa. "Still, I wouldn't mind seeing a blaster hole burned into his skull." Xezza said after a moment.

Risa glanced up at her. "How is our little project coming along?" She asked with obvious intent to switch the topic though on the inside she enjoyed the Falleen's lust for vengeance. "It is all going as planned. Just a few more meetings with Riker and he will be eating out of my hand." Xezza said confidently. Risa didn't comment. She knew exactly what that meant. The Falleen were able to produce powerful pheromones at will. The species developed this ability not only as part of their mating ritual, but also as a way to lure in and influence their prey. In this case, a certain captain Riker who had command of the eastern watch. A vital pawn in Risa's escape plan.

Riker's mind was too strong for Risa to influence, but he did have a weakness for the exotic temptations of the flesh. Coupled with a powerful dose of pheromones each encounter, the man had grown more and more infatuated with the Falleen. Although Xezza was merely acting out the plan they both came up with, it angered Risa that Riker was to even lay a finger on her friend. How easy would it be to have an 'accident' happen to him. A stray blaster bolt, a trip down the stairs, a slip off the elevator or even burying him under falling debris would feel so good. But, it would also completely destroy the plan and they would have to start all over. For now, Risa had no choice but to suffer his continued existence in silence but one day Riker would pay for his sins.

As the two walked into the camp they were greeted by an older Rutian Twi'lek woman who was even shorter than Risa. How she had survived for so long was beyond her but the woman's presence was beginning to become a problem. "The flood is coming! The flood is coming!" The old woman chanted as she walked towards the duo with wide open arms. "This woman can't seem to take a hint now can she?" Xezza remarked in annoyance, clicking her tongue as she did. "Young children!" The old woman continued, trying to take Risa's hands into her own. Xezza would not allow it. She slapped the woman's hands away and hissed. "Hands of hag!"

The Rutian withdrew her hands but did not relent in her greeting. "Of course young masters, my hands are not worthy to be placed upon the flesh of the one who will rise from the dead." The woman clasped her hands together. Xezza rolled her eyes and made something of a rude hand gesture of which Risa believed to be an insult on the Falleen homeworld. Risa did her best to put up a faint smile that would barely manifest. "Perhaps it is best if you take some rest Matriarch. They have worked you too hard in the paint sheds. Too many fumes perhaps?" Risa would have loved to call the Twi'lek something else but the woman insisted on being referred to by her old title. It was well known in the camp that the Rutian was the sole survivor of her clan as the elder woman would tell of the story to whomever made the mistake of being willing to listen. And she would tell it over and over and over again.

"No, no fumes, just clear visions my child. I have seen you die and then come back to life in my dreams." Again the Rutian tried to lay hands on Risa, this time to cup the Rattataki's face. Once more the hands were punished by Xezza as she slapped them away. "Nah ah!" Xezza said in an angry voice. This time the Twi'lek gave the Falleen an accusing look before turning her expression open and friendly again when addressing Risa. "You are our revenge. All the pain and despair will be repaid. When the chaos comes down on the Empire you will be reborn! Up, up up from the dead to kill them all." She looked at a passing Imperial column and started to shout in their direction. "Do you hear me? She is going to kill you all!" An insane laugh escaped the woman that devolved into an unsettling cackle.

Risa found herself almost frozen when confronted with the woman's strange appearance. She could see in the former Matriarch's eyes that her mind was broken and that unnerved her. Luckily Xezza noticed the young girl's unease and angrily kicked the woman to the side. "I told you to step away!" She snarled while muttering a few foreign sounding curse words in the Rutian's direction that Risa could not make out. The woman fell into the mud and looked up at the two with a look of fear and sudden clarity. "I.. I am sorry. Please forgive me." The Rutian lowered her head and crawled back to her feet. "Please forgive me, I have not been myself." She said while turning from them and making herself scarce.

Risa could sense shame in the woman. There was still someone in there, shimmering through the fractured psyche. A few soldiers were starting to take interest in the situation and Xezza could see them talking and pointing in their direction. Taking Risa by the arm, she started to lead them away from all the attention. "We cannot use this right now. Why does she have to keep bothering you? We do not need the attention of the dogs while we are so close." Xezza whispered, still very much frustrated with the Matriarch. Risa said nothing and allowed herself to be guided. Her eyes were still on the Rutian as she also went her separate way.

Xezza continued. "You will need to take care of her." It took Risa a moment before she could let the words sink in. Her gaze snapped to the Falleen. "You mean?" Risa asked incredulously. Xezza gave a solemn nod. "Yes.. She is getting worse and she suspects too much. It won't take long for even the dense Imperials to start sniffing around when she drags us into her delusions on a daily basis." Xezza sounded serious and Risa could see that the Falleen wasn't taking any joy in the thought of killing the Twi'lek. "There is no need for that. She is crazy and everyone knows that." Risa retorted but Xezza persisted. "You have seen her. She isn't alive anymore. Her spirit got shredded and now she doesn't even know what she does or why. You would be doing her a favour." Risa scoffed. "Now that I highly doubt. You are exaggerating." Xezza glanced down at Risa. "Am I? Then tell me this. Is she worth another three months in this place if our cover blows? Is she worth another year? Is she worth getting separated if they learn what we are up to?"

The words cut into Risa's arguments and she had to look away. "No.. She isn't." Risa conceded after a few thoughtful moments. The girl's discomfort wasn't lost on Xezza and in an effort to sooth Risa's mind she added. "Hey, whatever it is that is going to happen to her.. It is on the Imperials. They broke her not us you hear me? We're just trying to survive." Risa nodded and gave Xezza the best smile she could muster. "I hear you." Risa said. Xezza held out a fist towards Risa and said. "Take our freedom." Risa chuckled and added. "Give them hell." What followed was their own special handshake that naturally came about during their friendship. It puzzled Risa how such a simple ritual between two people could have such a profound impact on her, but she welcomed it nonetheless. It gave Risa the feeling that whatever would happen, she wasn't alone. She had Xezza and they would carry the weight of their actions together.

After a few silent moments of walking they arrived at a fork in the path. Xezza's housing unit was the other way from Risa's and here was where they usually said goodbye for the night. This time however Xezza took hold of Risa's arm. "Hey, if nothing else, I wanted to say that I believe the Twi'lek." Xezza said softly. "I think you will avenge us all and that even death won't be able to stop you." Before Risa could say anything the Falleen pulled the girl into her arms. Risa found herself frozen stiff as she was pressed against the Falleen's body. Even after all this time the two had rarely ever held each other and certainly not as long as now. Risa didn't want to do anything that might cause the moment to end prematurely, but she felt the arms of the Falleen slip from her body all too soon. Risa looked onto Xezza and saw her smiling warmly at her. "Good night Risa, and be strong." Risa didn't respond. She just watched as the Falleen took a few steps back before turning and disappearing into the dark night. Risa lingered in place for a few moments longer before she too made her way to her own housing unit. The thought of her coming dark deed weighing heavy on her mind.

 **Taken to chaos**

It was late at night, but Risa was still laying awake in her bunk. For the past several hours she had been concentrating on the Twi'lek and now it was like she was there in the room with the Matriarch. The woman was restless and Risa could feel how the Rutian was plagued by bad dreams. It wasn't uncommon for slaves to have them. In here, everyone was trapped in their personal slice of Hell. Risa was about to make an end to such a place of damnation, but she was hesitant. She had never before killed one of her own. More importantly, she never killed someone she did not hate or at least despise. She actually felt pity for the Twi'lek and that feeling weakened her. Even the eyes weren't there and with that she felt her resolve wavering.

Risa tried to imagine that the Twi'lek was someone else. She imagined that it was Riker who she was about to kill. That would have been no problem at all, but as the image of the captain grew stronger in her mind she felt her grip of the matriarch getting weaker. Risa quickly shook the thought of the man. "No, if I concentrate on Riker too much I might end up killing him instead." Risa thought to herself. Again she would turn her attention fully on the Rutian. Xezza's warning came back to mind. The Matriarch was a threat to them. She had the potential to take Xezza away from her or even worse, cause their deaths. Risa knew that there was only one way to get the eyes back and conjure up enough strength to finish the deed. She had to overcome her compassion for the Twi'lek and focus on the threat she posed to them. Risa had to be selfish, merciless and committed to see her actions through wherever they might take her. Only then, she knew, would the eyes grant her the power she needed.

The thought of Sodjun and the Sith code came to mind. "Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion I gain strength." The words rang true. Unless the mind and the heart were aligned the power that flowed through her got blocked by doubt. In order to let her will manifest in the world she had to remove all internal obstructions. Yes, that was how it should work in theory, but to actually do it was the challenge. It started simple enough with Risa concentrating on their encounter earlier that day. She rerun the memory over and over in her mind. Each time she gradually changed her perspective on what had happened and on the woman herself. Risa began imagining other outcomes. What if the soldiers decided to investigate? What if they were already being monitored? As thoughts of paranoia crept into Risa's mind she found herself questioning if the old woman wasn't actually part of an elaborate espionage scheme by the Empire to foil escape efforts of slaves.

Her dark imaginations started to make a twisted sort of sense the further she followed them. "Yes.. How else would that lady have survived for so long? And out of all people why did she had to obsess over her? It was all too convenient." Risa thought to herself as dark ideas took hold of her mind. As if a shadow fell over her she felt the eyes return and taking in her growing anger. Risa could see herself standing over the Twi'lek's bunk almost as clearly as actually being there. The old matriarch had become an enemy through Risa's elaborate imaginations and the girl was in the grip of murderous intent. She could see herself leaning forward and take hold of the woman's throat and even feel her hands pressing down on it. The woman's body shocked under her fingers and eyes sprang wide open. Risa pushed down even harder, her fiery eyes locked on the Rutian's.

She could feel the struggle to escape death play out beneath her fingertips as the woman tried to gasp for air. The hands of the matriarch reached for her throat only to find that there was nothing there but her own skin. Risa could feel the utter sense of despair as it started to dawn on the woman that she was powerless to prevent her own death. The young Rattataki however did not relent and found herself strangely mesmerized by the terror she was inflicting. The Twi'lek was in pain, and Risa was taking it all in. Every single person in the camp was now at her mercy. For slave and Imperial alike, even a warm bed behind a locked door was merely the illusion of safety. Risa had never felt such power as when she saw the life slipping from the Rutian's eyes. However, the feeling was short lived when the loud sound of the door slamming open shook Risa from her concentration.

Soldiers started to pour into the unit with readied blasters in their hands. Risa lost the connection and it took her a moment to take in what was actually happening. "Do I hear sirens? How could I not have sensed what has been going on?" Risa thought to herself as she only just started to notice that the entire camp was in motion. The soldiers roughly woke the slaves and ordered them out of the unit at blaster point. Those too slow to respond to the directives were dragged from their beds and beaten into compliance. Overhead she could hear the roaring sounds of Imperial fighter ships flying at low altitude over the camp. Even if there was a slave uprising, involving the Imperial navy was excessive to say the least. A frightening thought entered Risa's mind. Were they here for her? Risa banished the thought almost immediately.

No, if that were the case they could have just lifted her from her bed while she slept. Risa looked at the Imperials as they swept by each and every bunk. The slaves weren't even afforded time to put on their clothes and some were ushered out half naked into the dark rainy night. Risa herself was only wearing a pair of short pants and a loose fitting shirt. The black armoured Imperial kicked hard against her bed. "Move it, now!" He barked at her while pointing his blaster from her to the door. Risa said nothing and did as she was told, but for a moment she could feel all the hate and resentment come back to her. Aside from the shackles around her ankles she joined the line barefooted and followed them outside. As she walked through the door she was temporarily blinded by a search light shining directly into her doorway.

When vision returned to her she could see that people were being driven out of all the housing units and made to join a single lumbering mass moving out of the camp. "Xezza." Her thoughts sprang to her friend and her senses stretched out to hopelessly try to find the Falleen in the masses. Risa knew it would probably be in vain. Xezza was difficult enough to sense even when in close proximity let alone when there were so many beings converging in one place. But, it was more than that. Risa felt that her ability to use her power was diminished and the presence of the eyes was gone even with her anger burning bright within. There was too much chaos within her to effectively call upon its power. The sound of a familiar voice caused Risa to snap her gaze to her right. It was the crying of the Twi'lek woman.

She was standing in her doorway waving her hands around frantically in protest. "What is she doing?" Risa thought to her own surprise in concern for the woman she was determined to kill just moments before. Risa sensed the Imperial's blaster aiming up to point at the Twi'lek's gut before the fact actually happened. A single blaster bolt was fired and the woman fell face forward into the mud. Owing to her precognitive abilities, it was to Risa as if the scene played out twice before her eyes with only a slight overlap. Risa shivered and found herself in a confused whirl of emotions. What was she even supposed to think right now? Guilt kicked out the bottom of her stomach at the thought of having almost harmed this innocent woman based on paranoid imaginations. But what did it actually matter? In the end her life was taken anyway and Risa strangely felt that it would have been better if she had finished the job herself.

If she only was stronger so the matriarch didn't have to suffer the indignity of losing also her own life to a lowly Imperial. "Where is Xezza?" She thought out loud as her mind jumped back to the task of finding her. She needed her now more than ever and Risa looked around to try and spot a shade of red between the grey masses. Risa felt her heart uplifted when she saw what looked like a red skinned body part up ahead. Risa pushed and squeezed her way past the others trying to catch up with her friend. "Xezza! Xezza!" She shouted out. When she finally got close enough she grabbed hold of the person's arm only to immediately release the foreign feeling limb. She looked up and saw that the arm belonged to a male Lethan Twi'lek who was glancing back down at her with an annoyed grimace. Risa's eyes grew wide and her gaze turned downwards.

How could she have made such a mistake? Was she so blinded by childlike wishfulness that she could not even see that this was just a stranger? A sense of being utterly lost fell over the girl. Her senses and powers were failing miserably right when she needed them the most. As if to hammer the point home the shackles around her and everyone else's ankles activated without her even picking up a whisper of a warning. She almost tripped when the energy pull between the two shackles sprang to life and limited her range of movement. The system was designed to give camp operators immediate control of slave mobility should the need arise. From a central command tower the strength of the energy field could be controlled remotely. Usually they would be left turned off but if there were to be a riot or reason for a lockdown the operator could clasp the shackles together completely on the highest setting.

For now however, the pull only limited movement but didn't bind the feet together completely. The entire horde of slaves shuffled forward at a gruellingly slow pace. Because of Risa's slender build the shackles would always fall a bit loosely down on her ankles. As a result of the metal constantly banging against her flesh with each step she often had wounds or bruise marks around her ankles and shin. Over the years she had grown accustomed to the feeling but whenever the devices were turned on she winced under the pain of the metal pressing into her skin and wounds. As they walked the rain was starting to pick up and before long it was pouring down harder than Risa had seen in years. Flashes of bright light from thunder fixed the bleak and fearful expressions of the other slaves in her mind between instances of almost total darkness.

The combination of heavy rainfall and countless feet stamping away turned the muddy path to sludge and Risa could feel her feet sink with every step. Those that fell were beaten and those that could no longer be beaten into walking were executed on the spot. The hopelessness of the situation was almost too much for the young girl to bare and Risa found herself unable to harness any level of power to her aid. The long column of slaves was meandering out of the camp and in the direction of their newest building site where the slaves were forced into the recently dug foundation. Soon Risa found herself down there along with the other slaves surrounded by five meter high muddy walls on each side. Water was pouring in from the edges and the water level inside the pit reached to Risa's knee. The girl was shivering although if it was from cold, pain or fear she could no longer tell.

Risa glanced around every few moments and each time there was no sign of Xezza. It would be a full half hour of standing with feet submerged before all the slaves were in the pit. "This is where we die." Risa thought to herself. The tiredness causing her to wobble and her eyes to almost fall shut. She knew that if she did not figure out something everyone would be killed. All she could feel was an overwhelming sense of impending darkness and no way to escape it. One slave started to shout out a fearful cry that shook Risa back to her senses. And then another and another until panic finally took hold of the slave crowd when they all saw the black armoured soldiers gathering at all four edges of the pit. "This is it." Risa gritted her teeth as she saw the slaves desperately try to claw their way out only to slide back down when the mud gave way to their weight.

She had to act now, she had to at least give them a fight and not die like vermin in a hole. Muting out the sound of screams she focused on her primal instincts, her hatred for these monsters. She needed her power to fulfil her revenge. They could take everything from her and smash her hope but they could not weaken the damnation she wished upon them. It was her weapon in the darkness and from darkness she would lash out. In a wave of heat and power she felt how the eyes took hold of her, answering the girl's call for violence against her enemies. As if moved by a divine spirit her hands started to lift up towards the soldiers above. Her fingertips outstretched to unleash what felt like the combination of all the despair and hate around her into a storm of rage and fury. "Fire!" A voice that came out of nowhere interjected and the pit was lit up by a hail of red blaster bolts coming from each and every direction to reign death upon the slaves. Risa saw a flash of red and felt the bodies of men women and children fall around her. The cold embrace of water enveloping the girl's body followed as she too fell down.

 **The wheels of power**

Sodjun stood motionless as if frozen in time. Before him, the maimed remains of a human male dressed in red armour laid on the steel floor. Darth Nizar, once a powerful player in the Empire, had been slain by his very own. Pearls of sweat covered Sodjun's forehead as it was only after the adrenaline in his system lessened that he fully realised how far the Darth had pushed him. "A man worthy to be called Darth" Sodjun thought as he felt the full extent of his exertion. Today he tempted destiny by betraying his master and managed to come out on top. Arms spread out above his head and a Lightsaber clutched in each hand, Darth Nizar could still strike a frightening sight even from death. Around the former Dark Lord three more figures stood in the red glow of their lightsabres. Sparks of severed power cables bathed the room in a yellow hue at irregular intervals and the blackened walls and scorched hallways bore the marks of the onslaught.

Sodjun took in the sight of his former master now dead at his feet. He did not know what he expected to feel at this moment, but certainly more than he did now. The silence of the Dark Side at this critical moment unnerved him and a sliver of doubt crept into his mind. His train of thought was broken however by the sound of another fallen warrior coughing up blood on the floor. The four men angled their bodies to look upon him. "Zencrux has survived.." Darr, a large dark skinned human with short grey hair remarked in a deep voice. Zencrux, also a human, was a lean built male with long flowing black hair and pale white skin. The four watched the injured man muster all his strength to push himself up off the floor. Sodjun frowned in dismay as he, much to his surprise, saw Zencrux slowly rise back onto his hands and knees. "Legan.." Sodjun said addressing a tall slender Pureblood of similar height who then proceeded to walk over to the injured human.

Zencrux looked up at Legan and extended a bloody hand towards him for help. As if he was trying to assert something before acting, Legan gave the human a long look over before taking hold of the hand. Zencrux knew that a moment of weakness in the Empire could mean death, but a part of him believed that he still had value. A sigh of relief escaped Zencrux's lips upon feeling the Pureblood's grasp and he pulled himself up onto his knees. "We survived." Zencrux said with a strained smile. Darth Nizar had wounded him gravely, but the blow wasn't fatal. If only he could get the medical attention he needed, he would be able to make a full recovery. Legan did not say anything. Instead, Zencrux felt the red skinned Sith pooling his hatred with a scowl. The human's eyes widened as a terrifying premonition entered his thoughts and Legan's fingers tightened around the human hand in a painful grip.

Terror flooded Zencrux's mind as the Pureblood thrusted his lightsaber through the human's chest and out the other end. "Wh-Why?" Zencrux asked with his dying breath. "You have been useful Zencrux, but no more." Sodjun replied coldly and with that the Pureblood moved his blade up and out through the human's neck ending their former allies life. Legan turned back to the group and deactivated his lightsaber. The others followed his lead and also sheathed their weapons. Sodjun turned to face the shortest of the four. A Zabrak named Gast. As per custom, the face of the Zabrak was tattooed with menacing black and red patterns that gave him a permanent look of malevolence. On his head three large horns protruded about eight centimeters out from his skull completing the terrifying appearance. "Gast, contact Darth Acina's office.. Let them know that she will have no more opposition from Darth Nizar and that his apprentices, the Lords Sodjun, Legan, Darr and yourself pledge their loyalty in support of her claim."

The Zabrak diverted his eyes from the corpse of Zencrux to narrow his gaze at the blonde human. His displeasure plain on his face and in the sound of his voice as he replied with a hiss. "I am not your lacky Sodjun..." Sodjun recognised that he was pushing the Zabrak by ordering him and although the response of Gast was cause for concern, he opted not to press any further. Infighting at this stage was the last thing Sodjun needed. The transfer of power from Darth Nizar to the apprentices had to go as quickly and efficiently as possible. Every one of them had a role to fulfill and they needed each other to do their part. Despite the Zabrak's defiant protest he did turn to leave. "But then again.. I don't trust you to deliver the message to Acina either." Gast remarked as he exited the chamber. Sodjun would have responded if he did not know that any discussion would only lead to more friction in the already fragile alliance.

"He was weak.." Darr commented while still looking upon Zencrux's cleaved body. "Gast is weak too.." The man added as soon as the Zabrak was out of earshot. Darr, heavily muscled and over a head taller than Sodjun, who wasn't particularly on the short end either, towered over the others. Truly a sight befitting the position of Nizar's former prime apprentice. "Nevertheless he is needed if we are to keep the powerbase from falling into separate factions." Sodjun replied as he walked over to a communications interface. Darr followed after him and continued. "You overestimate his value. With Nizar dead the three of us can handle any further opposition." Legan leaned against one of the support pillars and crossed his arms over his chest. Despite his silence, Sodjun knew that the Pureblood shared Darr's view. Sodjun's mouth arced up slightly. "Perhaps.. But it is of no immediate concern. Gast knows that his position is weak and if he steps out of line he will meet the same fate as Zencrux. He will growl, but follow obediently."

Sodjun could feel that his answer did not convince the man, but it was enough for Darr to leave the issue hanging. Darr was intelligent and could be relied upon not to act on a whim. That made him a reliable partner for as far as Sith politics allowed of such. However, the giant's proactive approach did surprise Sodjun. Darr had been the one most hesitant to partake in the betrayal, but now that the deed had been done he was surprisingly committed to a successful outcome. Sodjun had to admit to himself that he underestimated the adaptability, cunning and practicality of Darr. A mistake he was determined not to make a second time. The silence in the room was interrupted when the holo-feed sprang to life and an Imperial officer flickered into view. "My Lords." The man saluted. "Admiral Cormodus has offered the unconditional surrender of his ships and accepts that command has been legally transferred from Darth Nizar to my esteemed Lords." The officer bowed with a self-satisfied grin.

Darr sighs a relief and looks to the other two. "We have the grand prize." Legan nodded. "With the surrender of the Admiral all other sectors will soon follow." The pureblood said with a wide grin but to his and Darr's surprise Sodjun had not even bothered to look up from the interface screen. "The slave purges have been prevented?" Sodjun asks before Darr or Legan could got a chance to comment on his silence. The Imperial, confused by the Sith's lack of response to his news, had to gather himself before he could give a coherent answer. "Eh, the.. Well My Lord, most of the purges have been stopped though I am sorry to say that two camps had already carried out the extermination before the cancellation orders came through." Sodjun closed his eyes for a moment and inhaled sharply before asking in a measured tone. "Which camps?" The Imperial officer took out a data pad and read up the camp numbers. "That would be camps Five-A and Five-B My Lord."

For a long moment Sodjun did not respond. He knew exactly which camps those were. The Rattataki girl he met years ago was held in Five-B and he had been too late to stop the order despite having sensed the danger she would be in beforehand. "My Lord?" The Imperial carefully asked as he wasn't quite sure if the Sith had heard him. Sodjun looked up at the holo-image. "All of them?" He asked and the Imperial replied. "The camps report.. That in accordance to protocol.. A few high value slaves have been selected for reselling but.." Sodjun was visibly losing his patience. And motioned for the man to continue. "Out with it man." The officer stammered. "N- No more than a few dozen slaves have survived My Lord." Sodjun's eyes fell shut again and he switched off the holo-feed cutting the Imperial off while he was about to say something. He turned to the other two and saw the puzzled looks they gave him. Captivated by the personal importance of Risa's survival he had forgotten that now his every move would be watched and scrutinized for signs of weakness.

At this point Gast also entered the room after his communique with Acina's office. Seeing the other three trade looks Gast paused for a moment. "The word is out.. What is it? Is the battle going badly?" He asked looking between the men with evident concern. As if his appearance wasn't threatening enough, he snarled in a way that displayed his sharply filed teeth. Sodjun shook his head and took the initiative to respond. This was just what he needed to throw off Darr and Legan from asking about his interest in the slave camps. "It is going very well. Cormodus has surrendered along with all of his men and ships." Sodjun said with a casual nonchalance as if the whole matter had been a done deal from the start. Of course it hadn't been. If the Admiral did seek to oppose them they would have been forced to waste at least half of the Darth's assets to take him down and the fighting would take up several months.

Luckily only a few skirmishes were needed and the threat of Sith retribution to bring the Admiral over to their side. The Zabrak's snarl arced up into an eager grin. "Then we have truly done it. We are the masters now." Sodjun held up an open palm at the Zabrak but his words were directed at all three. "Don't be too hasty to count our victory. Our position isn't cemented yet and until Acina is firmly installed as our Empress, we will be counted on to protect ourselves. She can do nothing more for us." The Zabrak earned the disapproving eyes of Legan and Darr when he scoffed. "We killed Darth Nizar, we have a fleet and we are many. Who is stupid enough to challenge us?" Sodjun however kept a neutral disposition and calmly retorted. "Marr is dead, and we are being invaded by an unknown and technologically superior adversary. Every Sith will be scrambling for all the assets they can get their hands on to protect themselves. Those people will eat each other if they have to. That is why we will not be caught off guard."

Darr's deep voice interjected. "Lord Sodjun is right.. That is why I propose we divide the powerbase." Sodjun's brow furrowed at the suggestion that sounded more like an order than anything else and he was unable to mask his dismay. "Why would we do that?" Darr seemed unaffected by Sodjun's evident displeasure with straying from the plan and continued in the same tone. "Outward, we'll still act as one, but internally each of us will have direct control of their domain. I will take the fleet, Lord Legan will oversee the intelligence network and Lord Sodjun will get the Kaas estates and planetary territories." Sodjun's face turned to stone and his voice cold. "That gives you most of our armed capital and leaves me with rebellious natives and Sith politics to handle." Darr merely nodded with an air of confidence that made the blood in Sodjun's veins boil, but he knew that there was very little he could do about it. Legan, would choose Darr's side and Gast hated him passionately and could not be relied upon. He had been outmanoeuvred and now had to play the cards he had left.

Sodjun feigned agreement and made it appear as if it was the best way to move forward. "That could work Lord Darr. As long as we all fulfil our commitment to the needs of the powerbase." Darr nodded. "Of course. After all the fleet is dependent on your supplies." Gast's gaze moved between the two. "And I? What do I get?" He asked, his tone and expression more timid than Sodjun was used of the Zabrak. Darr exchanged looks with the others before walking up to Gast, his broad powerful frame eclipsing the Zabrak. "You will get Sodjun's prized slave camps." Darr said with mock serenity and he gave the man a slap on the shoulder before moving past him with Legan following in his wake. The slap nearly caused Gast to lose his balance but he could do nothing but watch Darr exit the room and leaving the Zabrak stunned speechless. It was only when he turned around to try and find Sodjun's gaze that he noticed that the blonde human had already left through a different hallway.

In a fit of uncontrollable anger at his treatment by the other Lords Gast activated his lightsaber and ravaged the holo-computer terminal to shreds. Sodjun could hear the Zabraki exert himself as he walked through the corridors at a brisk pace. Although the thought of having Gast been put into his place pleased him he had no time to think about it now. All Sodjun could think of was the girl he left three years ago and he needed her to have survived. And if the Dark Side favoured his endeavour she would have.

 **Without a shadow**

Risa opened her eyes and saw the rippled water surface lit up by flashes of white and red. She heard the muffled sounds of survivors moaning, crying and pleading for their lives before being put out of their misery by dutiful Imperials. The guards were walking among the bodies and shot anyone who still drew breath. "They are out there.. Where I must be.." She thought to herself and as if on command she felt her body ascend back to the surface where she took breath once more. With eyes locked on the storm clouded sky, she drifted between the bodies of the other Rattataki. In a matter of minutes everything had changed, including her. There was a new sense of serenity inside her that made her feel singular. In the midst of darkness she was like a light that burned with a brightness of a star. A self-contained being of incredible potential just waiting to be unleashed on whatever she wished.

Her calm was mirrored by the mood among the soldiers. There were no jokes and no casual conversations. It had even stopped raining. It was as if there was an unconscious awareness in beings as in nature that there was a shift in their destiny. Their paths converged and were now dictated by a new centre of mass that had just sprang into existence. Risa lifted her hands from the water and held them before her eyes. They trembled slightly and she could feel a power coursing through them. Risa tried to recall the last few moments before her fall. She remembered an Imperial, clad in black armour pointing his blaster straight at her and pulling the trigger. She remembered the red light and the feeling of heat on her skin and how it's force knocked her back into the water.

Risa placed both hands on her chest and felt that she was strangely unharmed. Her hands moved further down over her stomach and lower belly. Still nothing. She looked back at her hands and balled them into small fists as if trying to squeeze the tingling sensation out of them. A nearing slushing sound made her eyes shift focus from her hands to an Imperial guard who stopped and looked straight back at her. The two regarded each other for a moment in silence and Risa could feel his intent to shoot her like the others. The only thing holding him back was Risa's sheer force of will dominating his. That something as feeble as that soldier could be capable of such destruction baffled Risa and made her even more aware of her own potential for malevolence.

"There is nothing for you to see here.." Risa said in monotone dictation. For a moment the Imperial looked hesitant, but it required merely an extra nudge against his psyche to make him turn away and continue his path as if he had never laid eyes on her. The young Rattataki lowered her hands back into the water and blew out a breath in contemplation. She had lost so much tonight it was impossible to wrap her head around it fully. But there was also something else, a feeling of complete triumph that liberated her and connected her to a vast reserve of power. A voice, not quite her own but also not entirely foreign began to speak to her. "Get up.. Get up and bring to bear the power of the Dark Side..". Before she made a conscious effort to do so, Risa found herself sitting upright and rising from the water.

She felt how every movement of her muscles was partly dictated by something elusive. As if her body had become attuned to a second will that worked in symbiosis with her own rather than competition. Risa turned around and now saw the full extent of the carnage with her own eyes. Over a thousand people had died here. Many of which she knew her whole life. Risa let her gaze travel over their faces, some half submerged in the murky water. She saw children she had played with, adults that had kept an eye out for her and told stories of their home world, boys that flirted with her and friends she laughed with. It struck Risa that her fear of losing them had transformed into something else entirely. The serenity she felt was only the outer layer of her being.

Inside, she could feel that something had made its home just beneath her skin. Risa felt it's thirst for revenge and desire to take over her body so it could manifest itself in the Galaxy. It was only held back by force of will and Risa decided that every being should be grateful to her for keeping it at bay. The handful of Imperials that walked among the dead had stopped and were all looking at Risa, but said nothing. Risa could feel their gazes on her and how her mere presence paralysed them. At some level of their consciousness they could see her. They knew what they were supposed to do when seeing a survivor but they didn't. Risa preyed on their latent fears and insecurities as she expanded her presence even further. The soldiers were being compelled to disobey their own senses and ignore reason.

Risa could feel the confusion becoming too much for the soldiers to bare and one by one they turned and resumed their patrols. Their minds choosing to ignore what they could not understand nor challenge. Wobbling from side to side and stepping over bodies, Risa made her way up to the metal ramp that the soldiers had used to get into the pit. At the top of it she locked eyes with an Imperial officer, strong willed and aiming his pistol at her. The girl wasn't concerned and kept walking towards him and smiled as she slowly peeled away part of her serenity to reveal what was living within. The officer could not move as fear took hold of him. She extended her slender long fingers and slowly pushed against his hand until the pistol was pointed at the man's own chest.

"The demands of work.. They are becoming too much to bare aren't they? Tell you what.. Count to ten and make the pain go away.." Risa said in a soft whisper as she warped the man's thoughts and feelings down a dark path. She smiled at him and took a moment to look into his grey sparkless eyes. "There isn't much life in you anyway.." She added before walking past him. "Three.. Four.. Five.." She heard the man say behind her as she kept pushing him down his darkest thoughts. Risa recognised the voice. He gave the order to fire upon the slaves and now, he was being ordered to end his own life as well. "Nine.. Te-" The sound of blaster pistol fire cut him off and was followed soon by his body collapsing to the muddy ground. A smirk arced up Risa's lips and she found herself pausing in her step for a brief moment.

She needed to feel the life fade from him in retribution. The sound of Imperial soldiers rushing to the officer made her resume her step. The blaster bolt had shook the soldiers partly out of their trance and Risa had to keep moving. She had used the darkness to trick the minds of the soldiers into thinking that what they thought to see wasn't there at all, but merely a shadow or figment of the imagination. Nevertheless she had to tread carefully and make use of cover, shadow and dimly lit paths to maximise the effectiveness of her manipulations. "Xezza.." The name sprang back to the front of her thoughts. She could sense her and more than that, she knew exactly where she was. Risa followed her instincts and was surprised that they were leading her to captain Riker's compound.

She wondered if Riker was sparing the Falleen for one night or that he had decided to buy her for himself. Either way, Risa wasn't about to leave the last person she cared about in the hands of the Empire. They were getting out tonight.

 **Only passion**

Riker's compound was a virtual fortress with at its centre, Gloom tower. The tower not only overlooked the western camp but also acted as a control centre for the gates, electric fences, turrets and remotely operated slave shackles. At present, Risa's shackles were turned off, but if the Imperials realized a slave was on the loose they would not hesitate to turn the devices back on again. Even with her power, she couldn't possibly escape without being able to walk or run. Risa looked down at the metal rings around her ankles and contemplated. The original plan was to disable the control transmitter on the night of their escape and use the, with the Falleen, infatuated captain to gain access. But everything had changed since then. Risa was alone and there was no way to even communicate with Xezza, so she began to go over her limited options.

If she were to barge in they would activate her shackles without any difficulty and execute her on the spot. Even if she could cloud the minds of the nearby Imperials, the remotely operated defence turrets could still take her out. Sneaking in seemed just as risky if not undoable. With no idea of the structural layout, she would have to crawl through the vents. It would only take one sensor or one boobytrap to kill her. The girl looked down to her mud covered feet again and began to wonder if it were possible to break her own shackles. Was the Force so strong in her she could will them into springing from her ankles? Somehow the idea didn't seem implausible, but right now she was too exposed. If she were to channel the Dark Side into breaking the metal bonds she would need all her focus.

Misdirecting lowly Imperials through mind trickery came at a mental cost and she was unsure if she could pull off both at the same time. Risa needed a place to hide so she could focus on the task at hand and her eyes fell on a monolithic structure. The colossal digging machine that she had worked on so often would do well for her experiment and she was slim and flexible enough to get inside where no one would accidentally stumble upon her. Under the cover of darkness, the girl skulked towards the machine and tugged on one of the maintenance hatches finding it to be unlocked. She did not expect them to be sealed but it was a relief none the less and Risa quickly slid inside and began crawling. Without the machine's power and completely closed off from any outside light source the young girl found herself in utter darkness.

She relied on her memory of the machine's layout and sense of touch for orientation while her instincts guided her to a suitable pocket where she could at least sit upright. Risa didn't want to go too far inside and she settled for a good enough spot that she found about a minute later. It was so dark she could not even see her own hands in front of her eyes, but she managed to get there with only minor scrapes on her bare knees. Risa stretched her legs out in front of her and sat with her back against a large metal pipe that ran along the length of the crawlspace. It felt cold against the thin wet fabric of her sleeping clothes and a shiver went down her spine as doubt crept into her mind. She had never before brought her will against a physical object and the how and what was less than obvious to her.

Risa decided that she might as well try to find the answer purely on instinct. If her mind was clear, the solution might come to her as naturally as her ability to influence the minds of the weak. She inhaled sharply and opened herself up to the Force in meditation. Her hands were stretched out towards where the shackles would be and she began to picture them in her mind. It only took a moment before an image emerged of a full multidimensional object that she could almost touch. She felt them through all her senses and the negative emotions surrounding them. The Rattataki followed her aggressive feelings and brought how they had cut and bruised her skin to the forefront of her thoughts. She felt the hatred for the people that put them on her and she took hold of that feeling.

The Dark Side responded to her call and the sensation of liquid fire started to burn in her veins and seeped into her muscles. With her anger rising, she felt like tearing them apart bare handed with the rush of strength that came with it. The need to break them into a thousand fragments became overwhelming and she took hold of one of the shackles with both hands and started to pull. But the metal didn't budge. If anything Risa's initial strength began to dissipate even quicker than it came to her. She gritted her teeth and something halfway between a roar and a whimper escaped her lips as she pulled with all her might and tried to get the feeling of strength back. When her efforts were met with silence she balled her fists and began hammering on the locking mechanism with an enraged fury.

Even with all her hatred, she could not make a dent in the device. "Open! Open! Open! Open!" She exclaimed in desperation as her increased efforts were only met with unyielding hard metal. This wasn't the right way. She realized that for all her gifts she was still focused on the material world, but her domain lay elsewhere. Again she concentrated and this time tried to listen for any hints of what it was she had to do. Risa began to feel a swell in her body, like a wave of fire that needed to escape and she was not about to stand in its way. Instead, she surrendered to the will of the Dark Side and allowed it to guide her movements. She was going to unleash everything she had against the shackles and get out. Instinctively her fingers stretched out towards the bonds and spontaneously webs of blue lightning arced from her fingertips.

Risa's eyes snapped wide open as a short lived euphoric feeling took hold of her only to be taken away an instant later. The circuits fried and the mechanisms sprang free from their hold, but the bolts struck more than just her shackles. In random uncontrolled arcs, the deadly bolts struck the girl's flesh and burned her skin. Risa shrieked and cried out in nearly unbearable pain as she accidentally electrocuted herself with her own ability. The power entered through her legs and coursed back into her body causing her to spasm, breaking her connection to the Dark Side. The lightning stopped streaming from her fingers and Risa's body fell flat on the cold metal. Her tender frame still convulsing in agony. Tears streamed down Risa's face as she felt the heat still burning away at her skin and into her flesh.

She clenched her jaws to stop herself from screaming. She must not alert the soldiers, she could not lose after all that she had sacrificed. Risa tried to place her fingertips on the burned skin but immediately recoiled as her nerves reacted with a sharp sting to the touch. A whimper escaped her lips and she could not stop the flow of tears from her eyes. Alone and in the dark she laid there still for some time. Too hurt to move, too broken to care if she could. She wondered if there would ever be something other than pain and loss. Her mind started to drift and she felt herself sinking into nothingness until she came to a place where time almost stood still. There was nothing in the darkness that she could see, touch, smell or hear but her pain remained.

That was all she would have when everything was taken from her. The fundamental reality of every being was pain and she realized that it equalized everyone as well. The slaves, Imperials and even Sodjun were all subjects in various degrees to pain and suffering until it would extinguish their existence. There was no escaping and no denying that pain would eventually knock on everyone's doorstep and to fear it now seemed like an act of futility. It made her feel naked and vulnerable. Her understanding came with an enlightening realization. She did not only understand what hurt her, but she understood how to hurt others as well. She knew the power of pain and fear and how to drown someone in it. Her answer to the undeniable presence of pain in her life was malevolence.

Pure, simple, totalitarian and easy. To inflict fear into others was to rule their core being and most fundamental nature. So Risa decided that she would learn how to live with pain and inflict it on others. Tentatively Risa reached out with a hand and pulled herself onto her stomach. The girl groaned and whimpered and as she turned her burned skin touched and slid along the metal work causing her to cry out again. "I can't escape the pain. I won't run from pain. I will never run from pain." She promised herself as she pushed on, crawling onto her stomach and feeling the sting of cold hard metal against her sensitive flesh with every single inch she gained. With each passing meter, she felt an energy course through her. The Dark Side latched on to the young girl and Risa internalized its power bit by bit.

The hatch was swung open and the girl fell out of the device and landed on her shoulder in the mud. The cold water caused her skin to feel like it caught fire. Risa felt tired, hurt, miserable and alone, but not afraid. Filled with cold hatred and strengthened by the power of the Dark Side coursing through her the girl pulled herself up onto her knees and then to her feet. The numbness of her legs made her wobble from side to side though it was countered by an iron will to take control of her body. No longer was she constrained physically or otherwise and it was time to rescue her friend and to bring forth what she had learned in the darkness.

 **Return of the Vich acolyte**

"Load them up!" A hoarse male voice bellowed out. A line of a dozen Rattataki slaves were ushered into an Imperial transport. "I don't even know what all the fuss is about." Said a young Imperial woman on guard duty. "How paranoid are the Sith that they have to kill the entire camp? The slaves were never a threat we coul-" "We obey Norin." Her superior interjected. "But sir," The young soldier tried but her commander wanted to hear nothing more about it. "We have our orders. What do we do?" The woman nodded and sighed as she relented. "We don't question, we follow them." The commander straightened his back and nodded approvingly. "Best to keep it that way soldier. You will get used to it. Growing up in the colonies gave you some alternative ideas but here on Kaas, we do things the old fashioned way." Norin nodded but was still not convinced. "I am a patriot sir, I'll do what needs to be done but it just feels so.. Wrong.." Her superior walked over to the front of the transport. "We serve the Empire, that is never wrong, no matter the assignment." "Yes sir." Norin pushed herself to sound convincing, partly in an effort to try and convince herself.

Why did she have to think differently? She wondered. The blacks, greys, brown and dark greens of the ominous Kaasian jungle and the dark uniforms they themselves had to wear were very different from where she had grown up. The local militia that had kept the peace on her home world always had light blue uniforms. And the weather was far nicer too. Temperate, warm. She felt like where she came from was exactly how the Empire should be. It had motivated her to enlist and spread all the things that gave her a good life to other systems. But Dromund Kaas was different. It was only here where she for the first time experienced what for her could be nothing less than evil and it made her doubt. Her commander never seemed to share in her troubles about the Empire and although they have gotten close over the past six months he had always shut her down when the subject came up. She looked up at his broad shoulders as he walked in front of her next to the transport. He was a tall man with short red hair and a kind face. Interpersonal relationships between commander and subordinates were strictly against the rules, but so far they had managed to keep it between just the two of them. The transport lights came on, illuminating the dark muddy path into the jungle.

Even though the lamps were shining away from her, the brightness of the light still strained her eyes as they quickly had to adjust. "What the kriff?" She heard her commander say as he suddenly stopped and she almost bumped into him. "Sir? What is… It?" She didn't need to finish that sentence as she saw a young slave girl in the middle of the road. She was dirty, dressed in torn rags that looked more like they were draped over her than actually worn. "An escapee?" She asked him. "I don't know." He clicked the safety off his rifle and walked towards her. "You! For your own good -don't- move." The girl didn't move a muscle, she just stood there. Her pale bright irises contrasted with the dark complexion around her eyes and she shifted her gaze from the commander to Norin. "Why.. Is she looking at me like that?" The stare sent a chill down Norin's spine. Norin shrugged off the feeling and quickly walked past her commander. "She is just a kid, You'll scare her like that." "Norin, no." The commander sternly warned but the young private had already walked over to the young Rattataki. "Hey," She greeted her softly. The girl stepped back, a defiant and mistrusting look in her eyes.

Norin stowed her rifle onto her back and showed open palms to the girl. "Shh.. It is alright, I am not going to hurt you. No one will. The purges have been cancelled." "Norin.." The commander warned again through gritted teeth but he kept his distance, favouring a woman's touch for now. The slave girl glanced at the commander and back to Norin, it took a moment for the words to sink in. "Cancelled?" She asked in disbelief. Norin nodded, not knowing if she should give a reassuring smile after such horrors or just keep a straight but calm face. The result was something in between, betraying her own insecurity. She looked the young teen over and bit her lower lip. "You look hungry.. I know, here." Norin reached into her breastpocket to retrieve a nutrient bar. The sudden movement caused the Rattataki to instinctively step back. Norin froze. "Oh, sorry I didn't mean to scare you. Eh, here." Slowly she reached out with the wrapped bar and offered it to the girl. Those pale eyes went from her green ones to the bar.

Norin could see that inside the girl the need for self-preservation and hunger were battling it out and as the bar was quickly snatched from her hand it was hunger that had won the struggle. Norin could not help but smile as she looked back at the commander. "She will be fine." She called back while the slave stuffed her self with the bar, wolfing it down as fast as she could. The commander walked towards them. But still kept some distance, standing just behind Norin. "Alright, you fed her. Now please, load her up in the back with the others so we can go. The slave girl looked up, crumbs sticking to the edges of her mouth. "Others?" She asked in surprise. Norin nodded with unmasked cheer for being able to give the girl some good news. "Yes, we are transporting the survivors to a new slave camp. They will be safe there." The Rattataki chewed the left part of her lower lip. "Is there a Falleen woman in the transport?" Norin shook her head. "No, only your kind." The patience of the commander had run out and he yelled at the private. "Soldier! Get that slave into the transport." Norin stood immediately at attention, an automatic response to the authority of the Imperial command chain, and she knew she had pushed the limits of her reach, even for their relationship.

"I am not going into that transport.." The slave girl said. "Sir, she is not going into the transport." Norin blinked, why did she say that?" Anger contorted the kind face she knew, and for the first time he looked at her with real anger. "Private, you are way out of line!" He yelled at her. Norin stammered, but she could not bring any words out, any thought she tried to put together disintegrated before it could reach her lips. "I want him dead.." The slave girl said coldly. The anger and frustration of the commander turned into fear and he yelled again at her. "Norin, no!" She could see him, but she could not understand why he looked that way at her. "Norin, put the blaster away." He commanded. "What blaster? What was he talking about." She saw him raising his own weapon, aiming it at her chest. "Myron.." His name escaped her lips followed by a red flash. Her body shook and it was as if the recoil of the blast had slapped her stunned. Myron looked at her with big, fearful and confused eyes before his body fell back into the mud. "Myron! Myron!" She screamed and she ran towards his body, only when she tried to embrace him did she notice that she was holding a blaster in her hand.

"No.." The memory of what she did flooded into her head. "No!" She cried. "Oh please no!" She threw away her blaster. "Please! Please, please! Myron no! I didn't mean it! I didn't mean it!" She cradled the man, but no response came from him to answer her pleas and tears. Two more Imperials rushed out of the transport, guns aimed at Norin. "Hands behind your back!" Shouted one. "Face down! Face down! Flat on the ground!" Shouted the other. Norin was confused and afraid. Her trembling hands found cold wet mud and dirt as she went to lay down next to the corpse of her lover. "Please no, it wasn't me!" She cried and whimpered. "It wasn't me, it wasn't me." Her whimpers were interrupted by a series of bright flashes that reflected off the puddle between her and Myron's face, somehow outshining the brightness of the transport lamps and the crackling sound of electricity caused her to flinch. She could hear the soldiers scream and their bodies fall to the ground. She felt the hairs on her skin stand up as the air filled with static electricity and she noticed the sound of small feet walking past her.

When she dared to look up she saw the lifeless corpses of the two soldiers, her co-workers and once friends. She could smell the sickening stank of burned flesh. And she could see the slave girl, searching the bodies of the fallen soldiers. "What.." Norin whimpered. Risa looked back at her as the private made a sound. "The keys." Risa commanded. Norin shook her head, not understanding what was asked of her. "The keys!" Risa repeated, gesturing to the transport. Norin flinched and her hands trembled uncontrollably as she quickly pointed. "Driver's seat.. It has the-the controls." Risa left the bodies and climbed behind the wheel of the transport. Moments later Norin could hear the lock spring open and the girl jumping out of the vehicle but she still could not summon the will to move.

Risa jumped out of the vehicle down into the mud. She had wrapped her feet and legs in makeshift bandages but she could still feel the pain of her blisters between patches of numbness. The numb feeling on some parts of her skin scared her more than the stinging pain but she pushed those concerns to the back of her mind. Her tiny hands and arms pulled open the heavy doors of the cargo hold and in there she found the slave Rattaki, some of which she knew by name. Two dozen pale orbes stared back at her from the darkness. "Risa?" One lean built man asked as he got up from the floor. "How did you get here? Are you with more?" Risa had to swallow as she steeled herself and climbed inside. "No, I am alone.. We are escaping." She said and tried to unlock the restraints on the first slave. To her surprise the man pulled away. "Alone?! No, you are getting us into trouble! We barely survived today, I am not rebelling." He said and shuffled back. Risa was dumbfounded.

"Listen.." A calmer voice spoke and another man stood up. "The purge is over, we get to live. We are the lucky ones. Risa, we still have a life." The young girl took a step back, scanning the faces to see if they all shared the same view. "I.. I don't understand.." She felt her mouth go dry, confusion swirling up her emotions and she had to fight to hold back the tears. A woman spoke up. "Its not worth it Risa. Where would we go? The jungle is too dangerous to survive for long. Come, sit here with us. Stay, please." The young girl wiped away her tears on her sleeve. Her confusion had transformed into disgust and anger. "I thought we were warriors.." She spoke softly at first, but as her frustration grew so did her tone grow louder. "Isn't that what all the stories say? About our past? How our ancestors fought the Sith's wars?!" "That was a long time ago child.. And look where it has gotten us now." The first man said. "Without ships or weapons, we got no place to go." Risa gritted her teeth. "You want weapons?!" She yelled and jumped back out of the transport. The slaves traded looks with each other as they waited.

Outside they could hear her struggling and metal clashing against each other. A blaster was thrown inside, then a rifle and another one. The small girl climbed inside with two more rifles on her back. "Here are your weapons!" "How.. How did you get these?" The female asked as she stepped forward. "I took them. I took them with my bare hands!" She displayed her palms for all to see. "Liar!" The slave she tried to free yelled, banging his restraints onto the metal floor. "The Imperials will be back soon and they will shoot us all." He banged his restraints onto the floor again and again. "Stop it!" Risa cried. The man didn't relent. "Liar! Liar! Liar!" Risa screamed out at him. "Stop it!" Her voice carried through the Force, producing a sound far louder than such a small body could ever hope to produce. The entire group of slaves recoiled at the sudden outburst and stepped back, some of them tripping over themselves. The slave that was banging his restraints froze, his eyes wide and unable to formulate any words.

Risa looked at each one of them, panting, confused, afraid but above all angry. "We can do this. I can get you out." She pleaded with them. It was the female who first dared to step forward. "Risa.." She was caught off by the clicking sound of a rifle. "Don't you kriffing move you bitch!" Risa turned around, it was the Imperial girl she spared. Somehow she had completely forgotten about her. "I already called backup, they are on their way and we are going to wait here until they do, you freak." Norin spat out. Her eyes were red shot and the barrel of her gun aimed squarely at Risa's chest. Risa knew there was nothing to do at this point. Norin had completely blocked her out. She was able to use her at first because Norin was so keen on trusting her, but now there was no hope for that. "I.." Risa felt herself become small, not knowing what to do. The others were right, she had doomed them. Her mind was racing, looking for an option, a way out. The loud bang of a single blaster bolt shook her out of her thoughts and her eyes registered the Imperial female going down with a blackened hole burned through her face.

Trembling, and with ears still ringing Risa looked back. The slave who had previously been banging his restraints and had refused to accept his release was holding one of the blasters she had thrown inside. His look was one she had never seen on a slave from the camp except from Xezza. Determined, angry, proud and vengeful. The whole transport was silent for a moment and the man got up. He wasn't overly tall, but not short either. He offered his restraints to her. "I believe you.." He spoke calmly but there was fire in his eyes. Risa nodded and swiped the cardkey over his binds. The fell to the floor plating with a clang. "I never thought I would see with my own eyes.." The woman said. "A descendant of Lord Vich's Acolytes.."

 **Bred for war**

The eve before Darth Acina's ascension to the throne had sparked a night of horror. Hundreds of slaves were pre-emptively executed following the attack on Darth Nizar's life by Lord Sodjun and his allies, but Risa had managed to survive the carnage. On her way to Gloom Tower the young Rattataki stumbled across a slave transport of fellow survivors and managed to free them. Now only two objectives still remained. Saving her Felleen friend Xezza and finally reuniting with Lord Sodjun.

Risa sat with her legs bungling out the back of the transport. They had driven it off road and deep into the jungle for cover and safety and now they were in the process of setting up a small camp. She was tired, wet, cold and could hardly keep her eyes from falling shut. At her feet sat Terza, a middle aged woman of impressive muscular build and strong facial features. Risa guessed that she was kept alive because she must have been an exceptional worker. All of them were among the camp's most fit and perhaps even the most well behaved slaves she could think off. "Auah! Tch.." Risa sucked air through her teeth and pulled her leg back. "I need to dry and bandage it or you will lose feeling in both your legs permanently." Terza urged, grabbing Risa's foot quite firmly by the ankle. Terza had a rough streak to her, but she was caring enough. A mumble and an angry glare was all Risa could muster in protest, but part of her was enjoying being cared for. Even if it was done a bit brutishly. Terza called her a descendant of Lord Vich's Acolytes and continued to recite the tales of their warrior past. Tales Risa had heard many times before but she did not object to a retelling while the woman tended to her self-inflicted wounds. A number of others had come to stand around, some paused their work on their makeshift camp every now and then to catch another few sentences.

One particular young man came to sit right next to Risa, the very same one that initially had tried to call the guards on her but was also the first to shoot down the Imperial woman that Risa had neglected to kill. His actions had puzzled her and she could not decide if she hated him or not. One thing was for sure, he made her feel uneasy. Many of the others she knew, even if it was only vaguely. This man however had somehow gone unnoticed by her. Perhaps he had transferred only recently. Slaves were often bought and sold between Sith estates and due to the high mortality rate there was always a need for a fresh supply. She glanced at him from time to time but every time their eyes met, she would avert them. He however, did not. Instead he kept his gaze lingering on her without any apparent sense of the discomfort he gave the young girl. An internal monologue raged inside Risa that muted out part of the story of Terza. The story of Lord Vich told of the arrival of Rattataki in the Sith Empire. Led by a Sith Lord who saw their potential, an army had descended upon the Sith worlds to overthrow the Dark Council. Lord Vich's most powerful generals were Acolytes that he had trained in the Force. Just a few dozen of them and their armies had almost defeated the Empire in a brutal conflict.

But betrayal within the ranks had caused the plan to fail and Darth Vich was defeated. His Rattataki army was decimated and the survivors sent to slave camps all over Dromund Kaas and beyond. The Acolytes were either killed or taken on as Apprentices by other Sith Lords. Nobody really knows exactly what had happened. Terza strongly believes that one of their own had tried to seize power from the Darth, but Risa had heard different versions of the ending. Whatever it was that truly had transpired, it did not change the fact that they were now alone and on the run. Well, they were on the run. Risa had wanted to return back to Gloom Tower as soon as possible but was overruled by the others. Weakened and tired, she conceded for now.

"What is your name?" The man suddenly asked, awakening Risa from her train of thought. The girl had to blink a few times as if she had forgotten. "Eh, Risa.." She answered more meekly than intended. The man nodded and looked back to the camp being set up, not giving her the courtesy of a response. She felt her anger rising with indignation. Irritated, she sneered at him with mock interest "And you are?". The young male looked back to her, studying her expression as if he did not understand the reason for her reaction. He wrinkled his nose and sniffed before answering "Tishin.". Risa bit down on her lower lip, holding back a response as the young man turned his gaze away from her yet again. She did not care for his attitude at all, and went on to look back at her legs and the bandages now being wrapped around it. There they sat for a few more minutes in awkward silence next to one another. "Keep those bandages dry and stay hydrated." He said before pushing himself off the transport. Risa felt the need to make a sarcastic remark back at him but it got suppressed when the image flashed before her eyes of the Imperial woman going down, shot by Tishin to save her. So instead she gave a half-hearted thanks and watched him go out to help the others. It was only when he had left that she felt how cold it was, and a shiver shook her tiny frame. She went from not wanting him around, to missing his closeness from one moment to the next.

Terza took a good grip on her ankle that pulled Risa's thoughts back to reality. "Hey, he believes in you." She said. It took Risa a moment to figure out what Terza meant. "Believes in me?" Risa asked to which Terza nodded and looked around at the others. "Most of us do, but everyone is also afraid. When they find us they will kill us." Risa listened and looked at the survivors. A short "Oh.." was all she could bring out and it dawned on her that she had not cared for her fellow Rattataki in a long time. She had secluded herself in one way or another most of her life. The addition of discovering the Force had only widened the gap she felt between them and her. And now suddenly they followed her, seeing something they apparently had never sought in her before. Terza smiled and got up. She could see that the fourteen year old was nodding off. "You are tired daughter." She smiled and picked up the skinny girl. Risa and Terza knew they weren't family, but close ties were often given honorific familial titles. Risa did not object to her being called daughter, and if she did she was too tired to do something about it. Terza had carried Risa inside the transport and had covered her with some frizzly blankets she had found in the front sheet. Almost as soon as Risa's head was laid down to rest she was gone. Terza went to lay beside her, sharing her body heat with the young girl and gently stroked her head. "Sleep little one.. I'll keep you safe.." She whispered.

"So what do you think of her?" Guall remarked while nodding towards the transport. "Did you know about her?" Tishin spat into the fire and looked at his fellow Rattataki. Guall was shorter than Tishin but he compensated for lack of height with having muscles of steel. Tishin had seen him lift pipes that even the largest could not get off the ground. His strength made him cocky and somewhat obnoxious but he got along with everyone well enough. "She is small.." Tishin replied dryly. It made Guall chuckle and nudge him a bit on the shoulder. It was a nervous laugh that didn't sit well with Tishin. He knew how joyful Guall could be but tonight had got to him. It had really gotten to everyone. Tishin could see it on their faces as he watched to those sitting around the fire. Some were asleep on beds made out of scrap, leaves and sticks. But a handful of them had joined around the fire. Staring at it blankly or making small talk. They were suffering from trauma and badly demoralised. Risa had supplied them with weapons but they still had nothing to believe in and moreover they did not believe in themselves.

"It is disgusting.." He muttered. "What's that?" A young female named Ezelin remarked. Tishin inhaled sharply and pushed himself up, now also garnering the attention of the others. "Its disgusting what has become of us." He growled lowly through gritted teeth. A dozen pale orbs stared at him in the darkness of the city. The fire reflecting back at him in their irises. "The Imperials have broken my ribs.. My nose.. My jaw.. My fingers even. But the worst thing is that I had allowed them to break my spirit." He spat into the fire again, all the Rattataki stared back, none made a peek to interrupt. "They sent us to the camps to die, damned for all time under an Imperial boot. But they made a mistake. Hard work create hard people. Strong people. While they in the city live lives of comfort and ease we grew strong." Tishin started to slowly walk in a circle around the fire, looking at each one of them in turn. "We came from a distant world on the other side of the Galaxy.. And now must of us have never even seen the stars once in their lifetime. They -hate- us. In this darkness we have taught ourselves to survive. They will never give us our freedom. Even if we took it as we did now. They will just execute us as enemies." One Rattataki named Louwan interjected. "We are kriffed, so? What is your point?" Tishin snapped his gaze at him and approached until he was standing right over him. "All the Rattataki must rise up. Everyone and in every camp." Louwan was not impressed and looked defiantly up to Tishin, but Tishin could see his anger. He was lost like the rest. "How many Rattataki have died tonight huh? How many more do you want to see dead for your freedom?" Louwan bit back. It gave Tishin pause and he backed off giving a pebble a little kick as he recollected his thoughts and took a breath.

"Too many.. But the point is that we must make the Empire realize that there is a better way. Don't you hear the sounds of their fighters roaring over? The calamity above our heads? Their Dark Council is gone.. Enemies are at the Empire's every border and within. We have a chance!" Tishin stepped back towards Louwan and held out a hand in offering. Ezelin spoke up now from the other side of the fire. "I dreamed my whole life.." she spoke softly but everyone listened and Tishin turned around to face her now. "Of seeing the stars.. Going to new worlds. I am trying to believe you Tishin.. To see our people reunited atlast." Tishin felt strengthened by her words and he walked over to her now. "This is about destiny Ezelin, about the rise of outcasts! We will no longer bow before anyone! Not the Sith, not the Empire and not the Republic." Tishin spread his arms and looked to all of them. "We are bred for war and conquest! Not toiling in darkness." He threw a stick into the fire and let his fiery gaze meet the eyes of each and every one of them. Those we were sleeping had awakened and sat up in their makeshift beds. Even though they were dirty, cold, alone and wielding little more than rifles there was a hole in each and every one of them. A refusal to return to their previous lives and a hunger for something different. A reason to keep going. The words of Tishin sparked their adrenaline and it prompted all to rise, even Louwan. "But how? How do we fight against such overwhelming numbers?" Louwan asked in one last try to stifle the current he was now himself almost being swept away in. Tishin pointed a finger to the transport and all their gazes followed. "We have her."


End file.
